Ex-Navy commander gets more than 2 years in bribery case

SAN DIEGO – A former U.S. Navy commander has been sentenced to more than two years in prison after pleading guilty to accepting lavish dinners, drinks and the services of prostitutes in exchange for providing ship schedules to a Malaysian defence contractor at the centre of one of the military’s worst corruption scandals.

A federal judge in San Diego on Friday also ordered Troy Amundson, 51, of Ramsey, Minnesota, to pay a $10,000 fine.

His lawyers argued that Amundson was not aware the ship schedules were classified, though their client acknowledged that from 2012 to 2013, he took the bribes from Leonard Glenn Francis, nicknamed “Fat Leonard.”

Authorities say Francis’ company used the information to beat competitors and overbill the Navy for services in Asian ports.

Twenty-one people have pleaded guilty so far.